The only thing or aspect that is constant in life is change and it has been like this since times immemorial. So it follows that the online world of local SEO results is also in a state of flux from one year to the next. However, following the Pigeon algorithm update’s release, the realm of algorithmic updates hasn’t witnessed any noticeable alterations. The Snack Pack algorithmic update that was released concurrently with Pigeon touted to show the first seven listings in local maps search results caused great consternation as businesses that were ranked or listed after the first three were hit hard.
The most popular search engine-Google has intensified the competition by halving the conversion window. Talking about local SEO ranking parameters, MOZ- the world’s top-ranked website with more than one million dedicated digital marketers and promoting inbound marketing analytics software of late, conducted a research on the popularity of such yardsticks. These grading factors include ‘on page signals’, ‘link signals’, ‘my business signals’, ‘external local signals’, ‘personalization’, ‘review signals’, ‘behavioral mobile signals’, and ‘social signals’. Amongst all these factors, MOZ focused its study particularly on two determinants-on page signals’ and ‘link signals’.
These two local SEO ranking yardsticks between and amongst themselves had a combined weightage of 40.3%. With an eye on publicizing the study, Moz emphasizes that the mainstays of the aforementioned two ranking parameters were inbound anchor texts, citation of NAP, insertion of keyword(s) in header or title, quantity, and quality of inbound domain links. And the significant aspects comprising the next two strategic factors impacting Local SEO results-external local signals and my business signals included the volume of citations (the total citations ascribed to you or your business across the online realm), NAP uniformity, IYP aggregator, proximity, keywords in title, and categories.
Behavioral/Mobile Signals’ is the determinant that ranks next as far as influencing the local SEO search. ‘Behavioral or mobile signals’ reveals the total number of times any particular listing is clicked or to be specific, the total conversions resulting from the clicks; the number or frequency of check-ins, the current offers updated on the listing, and click-through rates et al. The fact that a great majority of businesses are now listed on at least one automated social media site is a glaring proof of the significance of this factor in affecting local search. Review signals are the parameter or factor that comes up next. Included under this determinant is review quantity or the number of times a listing is assessed or reviewed; velocity of review or the total number of reviews a business is subjected to in a given timeframe and diversity of review which implies the number of web-based properties discussing the listing.
‘Review signals’ is followed by social signals in terms of the importance of local SEO ranking factors. Covered under this factor are the links that can be attributed to the several automated social network platforms including but not limited to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. To go into details, the total ‘likes’ your business receives, the positive reviews or feedbacks, the latest offers, and the steps taken to improve product or service based on feedbacks are aspects impinging on ‘social signals’. The above mentioned automated networking sites have evolved as popular platforms for basing your citations. The more citations you station across the web, the more opportunities visitors or customers with respect to updating content regarding the business on your site or simply log-in to check.
Summing up, the key factors that impinge the most on local SEO ranking of your business are its physical address, domain authority, NAP citation consistency, and the categories of ‘Google My Business’ to name a few.